Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel
The Midwestern Brotherhood of Steel is a "rouge" faction which split from the Brotherhood of Steel proper sometime after the events of Fallout 1. They are now almost completely different from the Brotherhood of Steel in everything but name. History The Midwestern Brotherhood was originally founded by a rouge group of Brotherhood dissenters who believed that the Brotherhood was too closed minded and stuck in their ways. After traveling to the Midwest sometime after the events of Fallout 1, they established themselves as an independent faction in that region: operating very differently from the Brotherhood back West, such as allowing for the recruitment of wastelanders and a desire to bring expand and bring order to the lands under their control. Years later the Midwest encountered a fersome enemy in the likes of the Calculator: a corrupted robotic AI system bent on "pacifiying" the wasteland of all lifeforms. After a bloody conflict with the robotic menance, the former leader of the Brotherhood, Simon Barnaky, merged his brain with that of the Calculator's AI systems: becoming the calculator himself. With Calculator and Brotherhood forces joined, Barnaky expanded Brotherhood territory from Chicago all the way to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, and began a systematic enslavement and "containment" of all mutated "non-pure" lifeforms. The feared Midwestern Inquisition being his instruments for the rooting out of genetic divergence within the population. Eventually howevever, Barnaky's Empire toppled around him after the Midwest faced almost complete annilation from an unknown plague which struck down from the North. After a malfunction in the Calculator's systems, Barnaky himself was killed and Vault Zero destroyed. Leaderless and facing devestation from the plague, the Brotherhood cast aside their hatred of mutants and looked to a new leader for salvation. What was left of the Midwestern Brotherhood's population began regrouping in what were once the pre-war states of Missouri and parts of southern Illinois. Although now they were joined by mutant comrades, who readily accepted the new regime change. Rebuilding their shattered nation side-by-side, a new capital at "New St. Louis" was founded, and the rebuilding process began in earnest. Government The ruling body of the Midwestern Brotherhood is the "High Council" of Elders, which is overseen by the Patriarch of the Brotherhood: who is "first among equals" on the council. The High Council is composed of a diverse mix of the various 'races' within the Brotherhood: including humans, ghouls, super-mutants, and deathclaws. The council sets laws and acts as the highest authority for the Brotherhood on both executive, legislative, and judicial matters. The territory of the Brotherhood is also split up into various smaller provinces, which are ruled over by Paladin-Lords. By far the most powerful of these Paladin-Lords is the super-mutant Paladin-Lord of Jefferson: the second largest city in the Midwestern Brotherhood. Culture The Brotherhood is a society based heavily around agriculture: as the soil of their home is suprisingly fertile. Most of the common people are either farmers, or their work is tied in some way to agriculture. The only two major cities are the capital at New St. Louis, and the city of Jefferson. The rest of the territory is dotted mostly by small hamlots and villages, with some larger towns acting as "capitals" of provinces. The Brotherhood, despite its past, is also completely tolerant of mutations: as might be expected. Prejudice against mutates (or humans) is outlawed. As a result, the Midwest is a unique sort of culture where mutants and humans live together in relative peace. The Midwestern Brotherhood is also heavily religious. Originally, when Barnaky held control, he was worshipped as a veritable living god. Following his defeat though, a different polytheistic religion has taken the place of the Cult of Barnaky. Little is known about the religion, except that it involves the worship of deities known as the "forebearers". Belief in the religion, however, is also not enforced. Economy The two most signifcant exports of the Midwestern Brotherhood is technology and agricultural products. Both of which are traded to tribal peoples and other national groups that the Brotherhood has contact with. The two rivers which flow through Brotherhood territory, the Missouri and Mississippi, are heavily utilized for the transportation of goods both up and down river. Like the NCR, the Midwest also has a limited system of raillines which are used to transport goods and people via freight trains. Military Force The military of the Midwestern Brotherhood is composed of the Knights, Paladins, and other supplementary forces of the Brotherhood's miltiary arm. While common people within the Brotherhood may be conscripted in times of war, the core of the Brotherhood's fighting force however, is its Knights and Paladins: who are well-trained and well armed and armored and usually made up of ghouls, humans, and super-mutants. In addition to its regular forces, the Midwestern Brotherhood also retains control over the remnants of the Calculator's army. While the ability to produce them constantly in great numbers has been eliminated with the destruction of Vault Zero. The MWBOS still retains factories in New St. Louis which are able to produce these robots. Since the Calculator has been destroyed, the robotic army is now overseen by an advanced AI system located in a bunker in New St. Louis. These robotics forces range from the common Humanoid Robots, to the more rare (and powerful) Behemoth Class robots, which can be the size of houses. Deathclaws are also a powerful asset to the Brotherhood's military, and while they do not fight as regular soldiers: deathclaws are used to great effect to both weaken an enemy's morale, and to act as powerful close-combat specialists. Their bravery and lust for combat often means they are deployed to the front lines of an engagement. Slavery While the enslavement of innocent humans and mutants is strictly outlawed, the Midwestern Brotherhood does practice slavery as a form of punishment. Criminals and gangs of raiders which happen to stray into Midwestern territory are enslaved by the Midwest and used for hard labor and to work on the various planations within the Brotherhood. Like a prison sentence, when the term of "enslavement" sentence is up, the criminals are released from bondage. Unless of course, they have been sentence to a lifetime of enslavement. Category:Factions